Although more people voted than ever before, the actual voting rate in the 1976 Presidential election was lower than in any Presidential election since 1948. The ratio of official votes cast for President to the voting age population was 54 percent, down from 55 percent in 1972 and a high of 63 percent in 1960.

This report presents findings on the social and demographic characteristics of the civilian noninstitutional population of voting age in the 1976 election from the Current Population Survey (CPS) conducted by the Bureau of the Census. (Preliminary results were published in P-20, No. 304.) Comparisons of reported voter turnout are made with the first CPS survey on voting in 1964 and with the previous Presidential election of 1972.

The low official turnout for 1976 is also reflected in resuits of the CPS. Voter participation in 1976, as reported by the survey, was around 4 percentage points below the 1972 Presidential election and 10 points below the election of 1964.

Highlights

Changes in the age distribution of the voting age population have contributed to the decline in voter turnout since the 1964 Presidential election.
The voting rates of men and women are now approximately equal. Between 1964 and 1976 the reported rate for men dropped from 72 percent to 60 percent, while the rate for women fell from 67 to 59 percent.
Voting turnout for both Whites and Blacks in 1976 was about 10 percentage points below their respective levels in the 1964 election, whereas the figure for persons of Spanish origin was 6 points below that of 1972, the first year the Bureau of the Census obtained voting data for this group separately.

Appendix A [<1.0 MB]

Tables

Table 1. Reported Voting and Registration of Persons of Voting Age, by Sex and Single Years of Age: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 2. Reported Voting and Registration of Persons of Voting Age, by Race, Spanish Origin, Sex, and Age, for the United States and Regions: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 3. Reported Voting and Registration of Persons of Voting Age, by Race, Spanish Origin, and Metropolitan-Nonmetropolitan Residence, for the United States and Regions: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 4. Reported Voting and Registration of Persons of Voting Age, by Race, Spanish Origin, Sex, and Age, for Divisions: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 5. Reported Voting and Registration in the General and Primary Election of Persons of Voting Age, by Sex and Age, for the 25 Largest States: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 6. Reported Voting and Registration of Persons of Voting Age, by Sex and Age, for 30 Largest Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 7. Reported Voting and Registration of Persons of Voting Age, by Household Relationship, Race, and Sex: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 8. Reported Voting and Registration of Persons of Voting Age, by Race, Sex, Age, and Marital Status: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 9. Reported Voting of Family Heads and Wives 18 Years Old and Over, by Race and Years of School Completed by Head and Wife: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 10. Reported Voting and Registration of Persons of Voting Age, by Race, Spanish Origin, Sex, Age, and Years of School Completed: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 11. Reported Voting and Registration of Persons of Voting Age, by Race, Sex, Employment Status, and Class of Worker: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 12. Reported Voting and Registration of Employed Persons of Voting Age, by Race, Sex, and Major Occupation Group: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 13. Reported Voting and Registration of Persons of Voting Age in Primary Families, by Race, Age, Sex, and Family Income: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 14. Reported Voting and Registration of Persons of Voting Age, by Race, Duration of Residence, Sex, and Age: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 15. Reported Reason Not Voting of Persons Who Reported That They Were Registered But Did Not Vote, by Race, Spanish Origin, Sex, and Age, for the United States and Regions: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 16. Reported Reason Not Registered to Vote of Persons of Voting Age, by Race, Spanish Origin, Sex, and Age, for the United States and Regions: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 17. Reported Reason Not Voting in 1976 of Persons 22 Years Old and Over Who Voted in 1972, by Race, Sex, and Age: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 18. Reported Reason Not Registered to Vote in 1976 of Persons 22 Years Old and Over Who Voted in 1972, by Race, Sex, and Age: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 19. Reported Voting in 1976 and 1972 of Persons 22 Years Old and Over, by Race, Spanish Origin, Sex, and Age: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 20. Reported Voting in 1976 and 1972 of Persons 22 Years Old and Over, by Race, Sex, and Years of School Completed: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 21. Year Last Voted of Persons Who Reported Not Voting in 1976, by Race, Age, Sex, and Years of School Completed: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 22. Year Last Voted of Persons Who Reported Not Voting in 1976, by Race, Age, Sex, and Duration of Residence: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 23. Whether Ever Voted of Persons of Voting Age Who Reported Not Voting in 1976, by Race, Sex, and Age: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 24. Whether Ever Voted of Persons of Voting Age Who Reported Not Voting in 1976, by Race, Sex, and Years of School Completed: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 25. Whether Ever Voted of Employed Persons of Voting Age Who Reported Not Voting in 1976, by Race, Sex, and Major Occupation Group: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 26. Whether Ever Voted of Persons of Voting Age in Primary Families Who Reported Not Voting in 1976, by Race, Sex, and Family Income: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Table 27. Reported Voting and Registration of Persons 18 Years and Over, by Type of Respondent, Race, Sex, and Age, for the United States: November 1976 [<1.0 MB]

Others in Series

Publication

Marital Status and Living Arrangements: March 1976

January 1977

Detailed tabulations provide statistics on the marital status and living arrangements of the United States population using data from the 1976 CPS.

Publication

Geographical Mobility: March 1975 to March 1977

February 1978

According to estimates from the March 1977 Current Population Survey (CPS), the Northeast region had net outmigration of blacks from March 1975 to March 1977.

Publication

Marital Status and Living Arrangements: March 1977

April 1978

Detailed tabulations provide statistics on the marital status and living arrangements of the United States population using data from the 1977 CPS.

Related Information

PUBLICATION

Voting and Registration Publications

Page Last Revised - October 8, 2021

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